EU to demand companies report pay gap between men and women

The European Union will demand that companies report any pay gap between male
and female workers as part of a crusade to "significantly reduce"
wage discrimination by 2014.

Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels

6:32PM GMT 05 Mar 2010

Viviane Reding, the newly appointed European rights commissioner, has published new figures showing an average EU pay gap between men and women of 18 per cent, a figure that rises to 21.4 per cent in Britain.

Women in the EU earn 82 cents (74p) for every €1 (90p) that men bring in, according to the study.

"I am very concerned that the gender pay gap has barely fallen over the last 15 years and in some cases it is actually increasing," she said.

"We will significantly reduce the gender pay gap in the EU by the end of this commission's mandate."

Mrs Reding will bring forward "both legislative and non-legislative" proposals after the summer "on reporting the gender gap and ensuring transparency on pay at company or individual levels".